Royal Source Claims Prince William "Annoys" Princess Anne by Not Taking Over One Important Royal Duty From Her

The Princess Royal allegedly wants her nephew to take more initiative in one area.

Princess Anne and Prince William
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Following King Charles's cancer diagnosis in early 2024, Prince William started taking on more responsibilities, particularly when it came to attending engagements on behalf of the Royal Family. However, Princess Anne is allegedly less than impressed with her nephew when it comes to his inaction in one department.

A new profile of Princess Anne—who celebrates her 75th birthday in August—reveals that, according to royal sources, Prince William has been known to irk his aunt. As reported by The Sunday Times's royal editor, Roya Nikkhah, "Prince William is known to admire his aunt's devotion to duty and Anne is fond of her nephew and will support him as king in the future if she is still working when he accedes to the throne." However, the Princess Royal has allegedly been known to criticize Prince William, too.

According to Nikkhah, a royal source shared with The Sunday Times that Princess Anne "would like to see [William] do more of the 'bread-and-butter' royal engagements."

Princess Anne and Prince William at Garter Day

"Anne would like to see William do more of the 'bread-and-butter' royal engagements."

(Image credit: Getty Images)

As investitures are carried out by Anne, William, and The King, the Princess Royal would allegedly like her nephew to take initiative and perform more of the ceremonies. "She's still doing most of the investitures [at Windsor] even though William lives there," the royal source said, in reference to the Prince of Wales's current home, Adelaide Cottage. "It annoys her."

Princess Anne riding a horse during Trooping the Colour

"It annoys her."

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The article also explored how Princess Anne developed her career, particularly as the so-called "spare" in her family. "She often talked about how, as children, she was treated so differently from Charles," a friend of the family told the publication. "She was second to him and kicked further down the line of succession as a woman, but she forged her own path."

Much is likely to change within the Royal Family when Prince William becomes king, and it seems as though only more responsibility awaits him.

Amy Mackelden
Weekend Editor

Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.